MOVIE: Free Solo (2018)

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Free SoloYear: 2018Rating: PG-13Length: 100 minutes / 1.67 hours For those who view climbing as a serious hobby, most climbing documentaries are a way to live vicariously through those climbers who dare to do something impossible. And while the plot structure of these climbing documentaries all feel nearly identical, there was something special in Free Solo (2018) that made it better than the rest. Perhaps it was the recognizability of El Capitan. Maybe it was the danger involved. Either way, Free Solo was well deserving of its Best Documentary Feature Oscar. Part of why I didn't connect with Meru (2015)—the previous film by these directors—was that I had never heard of that mountain before I sat down to watch it. Having never climbed El Capitan, I was at least aware of its significance. Knowing how hard this climb is, the premise of climbing it with no kind of safety gear is intriguing, to say the least. Of course, most climbing movies seem...
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MOVIE: Borat (2006)

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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Year: 2006 Rating: R Length: 84 minutes / 1.40 hours As far as mockumentary films go, Borat (2006) is at least in the top five. It may have not been as groundbreaking as This Is Spinal Tap (1984), but its use of real people's reactions to a parody of Eastern European stereotypes still shocks today. Perhaps having experienced some of the American sub-cultures that were mocked is what makes those parts of this film funny to me. It certainly has its gross-out moments, but Sacha Baron Cohen's performance is iconic. I think what makes Borat one of the best mockumentary films is its unscripted nature. Sure, they wrote Borat's dialogue in such a way as to provoke people (or get them to open up about their own racism/sexism/homophobia). However, the responses from these people feel completely genuine. The ones who accept Sacha Baron Cohen's bit and try to play their part straight are...
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MOVIE: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)

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Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Year: 2021 Rating: PG Length: 90 minutes / 1.50 hours The documentary format is so ingrained as a genre of film that it can be quite easy to take the same visual style and plot structure and apply it to something that doesn't actually exist. In the case of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021), the audience gets a glimpse into this peculiar little creature named Marcel (Jenny Slate) who lives in an Airbnb with his grandmother—both of which are shells that have shoes and can talk. Equally charming and meta, this film is a cute piece of fluff. While I never saw the short films this movie was based on, they must have been significant enough at the time (roughly a decade ago) for me to feel like this was a familiar piece of media that I had somehow missed from my childhood. The stop-motion style of these small creatures helps to show the challenges they face...
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MOVIE: The Social Dilemma (2020)

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The Social Dilemma Year: 2020 Rating: PG-13 Length: 94 minutes / 1.57 hours I joined Facebook in 2005. Before that, I was on MySpace. As someone who started heavily using the internet when the concept of social media started taking off, I honestly feel that I managed to avoid a lot of its pitfalls. My introverted self loved getting updates on people's lives without having to cultivate all those relationships intentionally. Of course, the system only works if people post updates of their lives. What The Social Dilemma (2020) brings to light is that programs meant to keep us connected have since been tainted by dangerous technology that keeps us coming back for more and getting little in return. While The Social Dilemma is inherently about how damaging social media can be, the greater lesson here is how artificial intelligence was created to handle these enormous datasets. Unfortunately, because these AIs were created to maximize ad revenue, they break us down to our psychological building...
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MOVIE: My Octopus Teacher (2020)

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My Octopus TeacherYear: 2020Rating: RLength: 113 minutes / 1.88 hours Nature documentaries are perhaps some of the most educational movies ever made. Sure, there are documentaries about extreme sports (like Senna (2010)), historical events (like The Look of Silence (2014)) or people (like Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)) but nature documentaries usually leave me with a sense of awe. This feeling comes from learning something about Earth that has been that way for millennia and will continue to be that way for millennia to come. There are so many amazing things to learn from nature that I can’t help but be amazed by it. My Octopus Teacher (2020) is just the latest in a long line of nature documentaries that have wowed me with the new knowledge I gained. Being from a landlocked state, I don’t have a lot of experience with aquatic life. I’ve occasionally seen something about octopuses being a little peculiar but never fully understood the full extent...
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MOVIE: Icarus (2017)

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Icarus Year: 2017 Rating: R Length: 120 minutes / 2.00 hours Some things in this world don't really need an explanation. If you've been around long enough, you can be fairly certain some things are true without requiring evidence. After all, we can usually extrapolate a reason for something if we know how the systems around it work. Even if there are barriers to keep these things from happening, we always have a hunch they're happening. For example, Icarus (2017) exposes the doping of Russian athletes for basically the entire time that Russian athletes have existed. This, of course, is not a surprise to anyone. While we can certainly blame the Cold War for Russia's obsession with winning at sports (and especially the Olympic Games), it is a little unsettling how far and how thoroughly the Russian government went to make sure their athletes were the best. The exposé Icarus provides is enthralling as it is revealed just how far up the oligarchy this conspiracy...
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MOVIE: Meru (2015)

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Meru Year: 2015 Rating: R Length: 90 minutes / 1.50 hours Having done my fair share of hiking in the Colorado mountains, I know how deadly these rocky monuments can be. Meru (2015) highlights this in spades as it documents the conquering of one of the last untouched routes in professional mountain climbing. It's no wonder such a daunting spire of rock remained un-summited from this approach, and this film highlights all the challenges that combine to make Meru as difficult as it is. Of course, because it's a mountain climbing documentary, it follows most of the tropes and cliches common in the genre. One of my biggest qualms with the mountain climbing genre of documentaries is how they all tend to be about the same progression of events. There's always some storm that prevents the team from summiting. Somebody always gets injured. Success is always just out of reach. It also doesn't help that there's no way for the uneducated viewer to tell this...
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MOVIE: The Look of Silence (2014)

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The Look of Silence Year: 2014 Rating: PG-13 Length: 103 minutes / 1.72 hours It’s weird how a documentary can make something as deplorable as killing another human being a chilling experience. If the killings that happened in Indonesia were shown on the screen in all their gory detail, there’s a certain point where a viewer’s mind just shuts off from all the violence. It’s almost too much to watch, which is why interviews with those who did the killings is a different and almost more horrifying way to go about exposing this barbaric event. The Look of Silence (2014) is a tough movie to watch, but it is crucial for understanding how anyone could do something so vile. Put in the framing of an optometrist trying to confront his brother’s killers, The Look of Silence has this quiet, stoic energy about the horrific killings in Indonesia. I was in shock when these men talked so candidly, openly, and unabashedly about the atrocities they did...
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MOVIE: Bathtubs Over Broadway (2018)

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Bathtubs Over BroadwayYear: 2018Rating: PG-13Length: 87 minutes / 1.45 hours To some, the idea that there were whole musical productions that were practically enormous advertisements for companies seems absurd. Since I grew up listening to Stan Freberg, I already knew that musicals could sell products (take his “Omaha” musical, for instance, since it was basically a 15-minute radio ad for Butternut coffee). At any rate, Bathtubs Over Broadway (2018) explores these oddities that most people never realize existed up until only a decade or two ago. It’s a little sad to see these ridiculous odes to corporate marketing go by the wayside…but it also makes sense as well. If there’s anything that Bathtubs Over Broadway gets across, it’s that these musicals were serious business, even if the companies they were selling weren’t. There were songs about bathrooms—repeated throughout its runtime—if that gives you an idea of the content. It is a little awe-inspiring to see famous names tied to these theatrical productions....
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MOVIE: Senna (2010)

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Senna Year: 2010 Rating: PG-13 Length: 106 minutes / 1.77 hours I’ve never been much of a fan of NASCAR racing, mostly because I knew that Formula-1 existed. While I haven’t paid much attention to Formula-1, it was interesting to watch the documentary on Ayrton Senna, especially with how it was put together. Most documentaries will intersperse interviews and other pieces of ancillary information to support the main narrative. Not Senna (2010). Consisting almost entirely of video clips recorded at the time he was racing, Senna is a fascinating look into this racer’s life that benefits from hindsight to piece the video clips together and the full story. The sheer amount of skill and mechanical prowess it takes to race Formula-1 cars at top speeds is what gives this film its initial entertainment value. Added to that, we have the charismatic personality of Ayrton Senna, whose whole goal in life was to be the fastest driver around. He didn’t care about the politics of the...
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MOVIE: Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

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Cave of Forgotten Dreams Year: 2010 Rating: G Length: 90 minutes / 1.50 hours Every once in a while, ideal conditions align to preserve a piece of ancient human history. Time and the march of civilization have destroyed plenty of important artifacts of our past, but occasionally something happens that protects this history for future generations to find. In Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), the audience gets a breathtaking look into an amazing discovery that has a cultural impact stretching back eons to the origins of our species. It’s a shame that most will never be able to visit this cave, but this documentary is practically the next best thing. Interspersing first footage and high-quality video of the cave, the music and narration in this film create a mesmerizing quality as we are introduced to cave drawings and other artifacts that haven’t been seen by human eyes in a very long time. The expansive nature of the art and the level of preservation are quite awe-inspiring. I...
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MOVIE: Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)

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Anvil! The Story of Anvil Year: 2008 Rating: Not Rated Length: 80 minutes / 1.33 hours Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) is one of those movies I sat down to watch because it’s on the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list. Before watching this film, I honestly had never heard of this Canadian heavy metal band, and it soon became apparent why. What immediately struck me was how similar the premise was to the 1984 mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap. It was difficult to separate this real-life story of the rise and fall of a heavy metal band with the Rob Reiner comedy since so many of the beats of the plot seemed to match up. Still, it was somewhat engrossing to see how Anvil! followed the progression I’d already seen in Spinal Tap. At first, I thought, “Is this for real?” This was before I realized that perhaps the reason why Spinal Tap worked so well was because that’s just how the music industry functions and has functioned...
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MOVIE: Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

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Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Year: 2018 Rating: PG-13 Length: 94 minutes / 1.57 hours Growing up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I did spend a fair amount of time watching PBS. From Sesame Street to Bill Nye, one of the shows I would frequently watch was Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. Plenty of friends had raved about this documentary, so I finally decided to sit down and watch it. Let me state that most people will probably cry at one point during this movie. After all, there was so much heart present in Fred Roger’s life and profession that you can’t help but be touched by his ministry. This documentary was a little eye-opening in the sense that it took something from my nostalgia and made me realize how groundbreaking it was. I don’t recall the more “serious” episodes, but watching clips where subjects like assassination, racism, and war are all presented in a fashion that children can understand them is astounding. Fred never...
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